The Façade

After the Indian attack of 1775, Padre Serra returned in the summer of 1776 to begin reconstructing Mission San Diego. The church and buildings were rebuilt, and the mission flourished for a number of years. Earthquakes in the early 1800's destroyed most of the adobe buildings and church, and when the structures were rebuilt in 1812, buttress wings were added to strengthen the church facade. By the early 1920's, only portions of the walls along the adjoining buttresses, the campanano, and the baptistry remained standing. The doors are redwood replicas whose carvings are taken from actual designs on the original doors. The emblem over the door is the papal insignia, signifying that Mission San Diego is a minor basilica, an honor bestowed by Pope Paul VI in 1976. The statues in the niches along the corridor represent the nine missions founded by Padre Serra in chronological order, and each statue represents the saint for whom that mission was named.

San Diego, California · United States